Business Analysis Exercise - Instructions For Participant

Background
For this exercise, you have been recently appointed as a Special Project Team Leader within Sunrise Insurance
Vietnam. Sunrise Insurance Vietnam is one of the top 5 general insurance companies in Vietnam and sells an array
of motor insurance products.

In your newly created role, you report directly to Benedict Cumberbatch who is the CEO of Sunrise Insurance
Vietnam.

You have just started in your role this week and Cameron has asked you to conduct an initial analysis of the Sunrise
Insurance business. He has asked you to conduct a review of the information provided by the sales and marketing
teams along with some data provided by the Chief Financial Officer. Cameron would like to hear your view on what
some of the key issues are that should be addressed to help achieve business goals – becoming market leader by
increasing market share by about 7-8% for the next 3 – 5 years.

Target: Calculated data shows that with a forecast motor insurance market growth of about 12.2% per annum,
Sunshine can achieve it by increasing market share by about 7-8% over the next 3 years.

To enable you to analyse the current performance of the business, please refer to all of the information provided in
the next few pages. Do note that you are encouraged to be creative and to make new and innovative suggestions
especially if you feel that they will add value to Sunrise Insurance’s business, profitability and sustainability.

Your task
You are required to deliver a presentation to the CEO’s representative and your presentation must include the
following:

• A brief, high-level analysis on the status and business context of Sunrise (based on the data that you have
received). You can consider using SWOT model to conduct your analysis or any method that work for you.

• Suggestions on the course of actions or new initiatives which could drive Sunrise to achieve the business
objectives with priority and resources consideration. Your suggestions and ideas must be provided with
supported rationales to justify why and how they could impact on pump up the business performance to the
next level.

• Any new and innovative ideas are encouraged.

You may feel that to carry out this task you have to make some additional assumptions. This is permissible provided
that an adequate explanation of the reasons for such assumptions is given.

Time allocation
• Individual preparation: 30 minutes

• Presentation: 15 minutes

• Question and answer: 15 minutes

You will have exactly 30 minutes from now to analyse the material on the following pages and prepare your
presentation in either PowerPoint, Word or Excel. You are then invited to present your findings (as per the three
bullet points above) to a representative of the CEO. The time allocation for the meeting is 15 minutes for
presentation and 15 minutes for question and answer.
OVERVIEW OF SUNRISE INSURANCE ON FINANCIAL STATUS
Motor Vehicle Insurance Market Overview
Sunrise Insurance is the 5th largest general insurer and the 2nd largest motor insurance company in Vietnam. The
company holds about 18.2% market share (YTD) within the motor vehicle insurance segment in Vietnam providing
insurance for motor bikes, scooters, cars, buses and trucks for personal and commercial usage.

Sunrise Insurance Operations

Sunrise Insurance distributes its motor insurance and motor vehicle finance services through a large network of over
5,000 agents across Vietnam. The agents deal with families and businesses who own motor vehicles and are looking
to buy insurance to safeguard their valuable motor vehicles. The advantage of this extensive agency network is the
ability to reach customers face-to-face in every medium and large town and city across Vietnam.

Almost 76% of Sunrise Insurance’s customers are acquired and retained by the agents while 24% come directly
through interaction with Sunrise Insurance’s own sales and service team or through online purchase through the
company’s website. Therefore, the relationships with agents form a critical part of Sunrise Insurance previous
success. However, this agency network comes at a cost. Sunrise Insurance pays 10-15% higher commission amount
to its agents who sell Sunrise Insurance policies compared to other insurance companies within Vietnam. \

Financial Performance
A report by an independent accounting firm has provided the following comparisons between Sunrise Insurance and
other competitors within the motor insurance market in Vietnam. Table 1 indicates that Sunrise Insurance is not
performing as effectively as the average motor insurance company in Vietnam.

Table 1: Comparison between Sunrise Insurance and industry average for motor insurance companies in Vietnam

Financial metric Sunrise Insurance Vietnam Vietnam industry average

Annual revenue growth vs. last year 7.1% 12.2%

Operating costs (excluding claims &

72.7% 69.5%
reinsurance) as a % of revenue

Gross operating profit as a % of revenue 27.3% 30.5%

Claims as a % of premium 15.6% 15.2%

Reinsurance costs as a % of revenue 6.0% 6.1%

Net profit before interest and tax 5.7% 9.2%

Table 2: Sunrise Insurance Vietnam operating profit and loss statement for last three years

Note All figures are USD $’000 (i.e. 100 = $100,000 USD)

% of 1 year % of 2 years % of
USD $’000 Notes: This year
revenue ago revenue ago revenue
Insurance premium fees from Sunrise
Revenue Direct customers premiums 48,412 26.0% 45,188 26.0% 41,210 26.0%
Insurance direct customers
Insurance premium fees from agency
Agency customers premiums 137,788 74.0% 128,612 74.0% 117,290 74.0%
customers
Total Premium Revenue 186,200 173,800 158,500
Revenue growth on last year 7.1% 9.7% 12.3%

Expenses Administration & IT Expenses

Head office, branch offices and call centre
Office leases 11,270 6.1% 9,385 5.40% 8,750 5.5%
leases
Depreciation Depreciation of IT and furniture 1,790 1.0% 1,564 0.90% 1,445 0.9%
IT systems, internet, printing and telephone
IT & communications 6,680 3.6% 5,735 3.30% 4,900 3.1%
expenses
Travel expenses Staff business travel expenses 489 0.3% 348 0.20% 280 0.2%
Legal & compliance Legal, governance and compliance expenses 1,250 0.7% 1,217 0.70% 950 0.6%
Stationery and office amenities and
Office administration 935 0.5% 695 0.40% 540 0.3%
maintenance
Total Administration & IT Expenses 22,414 12.0% 18,994 10.90% 16,865 10.6%

Sales & Marketing Expenses

Commissions paid to agents for sales &
Agency commissions 44,092 23.7% 39,974 23% 36,360 22.9%
renewals
Marketing & promotions See marketing expenditure for details 10,872 5.8% 13,904 8.00% 11,888 7.5%
Annual sales conference Annual agents conference 465 0.2% 174 0.10% 155 0.1%
Sales Incentives Reward to motivate agents and sales 3,471 1.9% 2,781 1.60% 1,937 1.2%
 Sales training for agents & internal Sunrise
Sales training 200 0.1% 174 0.10% 200 0.1%
Insurance sales staff
Total Sales & Marketing expenses 59,100 31.7% 57,066 32.8% 50,540 31.9%

Wages and HR expenses

Wages for management CEO and senior leadership team 4,050 2.2% 3,650 2.20% 2,980 1.9%
Cost of Sunrise Insurance Wages, bonuses & direct employment costs
8,714 4.7% 8,169 4.70% 7,005 4.4%
sales force of Sunrise Insurance sales employees
Wages for customer service Call centre, claims department & all branch
15,827 8.5% 13,664 7.86% 11,090 7.0%
staff and head office customer service staff
Wages for support services Branch managers, HR, Legal, IT, Compliance,
21,041 11.3% 17,380 10.00% 14,800 9.3%
staff Risk Management, Marketing wages
Training & development All training and development expenses 1,410 0.8% 1,217 0.70% 1,100 0.7%
Recruitment and onboarding fees for new
Recruitment fees & expenses 2,930 1.6% 2,955 1.84% 1,880 1.2%
staff
Total Wages & HR expenses 53,972 29.0% 47,034 27.30% 38,855 24.5%

Total Operating Expenses 135,486 72.7% 122,984 71.00% 106,260 67.0%

Gross operating profit & loss (excluding claims and reinsurance) 50,714 27.3% 50,816 29.00% 52,240 33.0%

Non-operating expenses: Insurance claims & underwriting expenses

Cost of claims Insurance claims paid out to customers 29,047 15.6% 26,939 15.5% 24,885 15.7%
Cost of underwriting Cost of reinsurance 11,172 6.0% 10,428 6.0% 9,510 6.0%
Total claims and underwriting expenses 40,219 21.6% 37,367 21.5% 34,395 21.7%

Net profit(loss) before interest and tax 10,596 5.7% 13,121 7.5% 13,442 8.5%
OVERVIEW OF MARKETING AND CUSTOMER FOCUS
Marketing & promotional expenditure
The data below in Table 3 has been provided by the Marketing department with a breakdown on expense
categories within the marketing function of the business.

Table 3: Marketing function expenditures last year (USD)

Marketing expenditure % of marketing budget

Roadside signage advertising 13.2%

Magazine advertising 15.5%
Television advertising 20.2%
Radio advertising 5.7%
Promotional activity
Branch promotions 8.8%
Product information leaflets 25.6%
Community event sponsorship 1.5%
Total all promotional activity 90.5%
Social media advertising & promotions 1.3%
Website maintenance 1.1%
Technology & digital Customer app development 1.7%
Customer data management system 2.1%
Total all digital & technology spend 6.1%

Market & competitor research Market & competitor research 3.4%

Total marketing function expenditure 100.0%

Marketing Strategy
For years, most of Sunrise customers have been acquired and retained by the agents. With an effort to retain
our customer, company strategy has focused on maintaining an attractive commission and incentive scheme to
agents. While, investment on customer promotions and branding campaigns targeting to direct customers
remain unchanged over the years.

Market Segments
Sunrise Insurance marketing department recently released a report on the motor vehicle insurance customer
segments in Vietnam. There is a large increase in the number of customers due to:
1. The increase in Vietnam’s population
2. An increase in the wealth of Vietnamese people thus enabling more vehicle purchases
3. An increase is the number of customers upgrading to cars (as many motorbike owners do not bother to
insure their motorbikes/mopeds)
4. An increase in the number of customers who will insure more than one vehicle within their family
 Vehicle Ownership Ten-Year Forecast
40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
First time buyer Existing motor bike Upgrader motor Existing car Premium private Multiple vehicle
owner motor bike to car ownerw vehicle owners policy holder

Number of customers in 2018 (millions) Estimated number of customers in 2022 (millions)

Estimated number of customers in 2029 (millions)

Market growth & key market segments

According to recent market research, the annual motor insurance growth in Vietnam 12.2% per annum and the
annual growth within main motor vehicle segments is as follow:

% of current % of Sunrise Insurance

Vehicle segment Annual growth rate
market customers

Commercial vehicle premium 11.90% 35.30% 13.29%

Personal vehicle premium
Prestige cars 17.60% 1.60% 25.20%
Economy cars 15.50% 27.80% 19.80%
Prestige bikes 6.70% 2.10% 2.91%
Economy bikes 9.30% 33.20% 38.80%
Customer Insights
Consumer Trends
Recent studies by the insurance industry association of Vietnam reveals the following key influences on
consumer buying behaviour within the motor insurance market:

• Online purchasing: 83% of customers under 35 years of age are happy to buy motor insurance online
without any direct or personal relationship with the insurance company or an insurance broker.

• Insurance comparisons websites: More than 35 % of motor insurance customers under the age of 35
years utilise websites which provide a comparison between insurance products based on price, terms and
conditions of insurance.

• Prestige = personal: Prestige motor vehicle customers place great value on their vehicles and therefore
want to ensure that they have a suitable prestige insurance cover. These customers mostly rely on
personal relationship advise provided by an insurance broker.

• Social media and online blogs: An increasing number of clients are relying on referrals, ratings and
comments made by other insurance buyers found in social media and online motor industry blogs.

• Streamlining through digitization: In the arising digital world, customers expect frictionless, connected
services that are easy to interact with. Research shows that customer behaviour in this fast-moving pace
become less patient and more demanding for real-time interactions and fast responses where, when and
how they want.
• Cross-channel personalized experiences: A proactive offering based on a customer’s life event is more
likely to generate a sale because customers are receptive to coverage modification based on their new,
emerging requirements. They have tendency to make purchase decision while building a brand new or
upgrading their vehicle with all the cost and paperwork processed by the retailer or car broker as a lump
sum administration service fee.

Customer Experience
Below is an extract from a report by a third-party consulting who has conduct customer satisfaction survey
and focus group on Sunrise Insurance’s customer service department.

Table 4: The customer service ratings by customers who were handled by Sunrise Customer Service team both
online and offline.
(*) The number in the table is the average score received from customers surveyed ranking from 1- Well below
my expectation to 5 - Well exceeded my expectation.
(**) The net promoter score represents the percentage of customers who would recommend Sunrise
Insurance to another person based upon their recent service experience. Note that the company target is 70%
and the industry average in Vietnam is 61%.

2019
Survey item 2016 2017 2018
(1st haft)
Overall professionalism of the Customer
2.9 3.8 3.4 3
Service Agent
Quality and efficiency of service from the
2.6 4.3 3.6 2.9
Customer Service Agent
Politeness and courtesy of the Customer
3.9 4.2 4.1 4.2
Service Agent
Problem solving capabilities of the
2.3 3.7 3.2 2.0
Customer Service Agent
Amount of time it took to issue your
2.5 2.9 3.1 3.4
Sunrise Insurance policy
Net promoter score 57% 72% 65% 62%
Finding from customer focus group:

1. On products and sales services:

Customer 1: “Agent mis-selling and product knowledge lacking”

Customer 2: “Incompetent Sunrise Sales team & Process Issue as I could not receive clarification for my
concern when contacting Sunrise hotline, my call couldn’t be transferred directly and I need to dial a new
number.”

Customer 3: “Lapse in online application without any follow up”

2. After sales service:

Customer 4: “Inefficient process for customer inquiry , lengthy process to justify my inquiry with various
people from different departments who all call to ask me similar set of question